Hydrus Black chapter 37

Chapter 37 -

"I dumped him," Narcissa said as everyone arrived at the Black family house.

"Finally." Bellatrix let out a pleased sigh. "I've been saying he was wrong for you since before the little brat was born," She said, off-handly gesturing to Draco.

"I'm not a brat," He protested half-heartedly before turning to his mother. "So...what now?" He asked softly. "We're never going back home?"

"I'm afraid not." Sighed Narcissa. "Your father has chosen his side, and it's with the dark lord. If he wants to spend his life bending the knee to a monster who would kill him if given a half-good reason, then that's up to him, but you, on the other hand, are worth more than that."

"Exactly," Hydrus piped up, giving Draco a light punch on the arm. "You're descended from the Black family, you're worth ten Malfoys."

"I am a Malfoy, though," Draco pointed out.

"So you're worth eleven Malfoys when you add it all up," Tonks said with a small smile. "Don't worry, you're still an annoying ass to me,"

"Thanks," Draco snorted humorlessly while Andromeda half-heartedly told off Tonks.

"Anyway, we got plenty of rooms here if you and the brat want to stay," Bellatrix offered Narcissa while Hydrus opened his trunk and reached inside.

"Perhaps for a day or two," Narcissa agreed. "I intend to take Draco and myself out of the country to visit our family home."

"The French one?" Andromeda asked.

"The Spanish one," Narcissa answered. "I figured it would be good for us to spend some time out of the country for a bit."

"You want to bunk with us while you're here?" Hydrus offered Draco.

"Us?" Draco repeated as Hydrus took his hands out of his trunk. Quickly climbing up Hydrus's arm and onto his shoulder was Hydrus's bowtruckle, Bowie, and in Hydrus's arm was his favourite snake, Rocky. "Umm...you know what, I'm good," Draco said, as politely as he could.

"Huh?" Hydrus blinked before rolling his eyes. "I don't know what you're so scared about, Bowie is perfectly friendly."

"I'm sorry, are you referring to the little green bowtruckle on your shoulder and not the snake in your arms?" Draco asked with plenty of disbelief.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Hydrus asked in a confused voice. "Bowie can scratch your eyes out if he wanted; Rocky's just a big softy." Draco was sure that it didn't help his own sanity when both the snake and the bowtruckle nodded at the same time, nor was it helpful when Tonks decided to laugh and Bellatrix decided to pet the snake as if it was a mere cat.

(.)

"So, Dear, how was your school year?" Emma Granger, Hermione's mother, asked as they made their way back home.

A part of Hermione really wished that she would be able to set up a floor network in their house so she could come and go instantly, but then again, it was nice to be able to spend some time with her family. It had been a long time since they had sat together in her father's car. Just like when she had been driven to school, her parents sat in the front, her mother was in the front passenger seat, and her dad was driving as usual while she sat in the back.

"It was really fun!" Hermione said enthusiastically. "I got to learn so much about magic and I even managed to make a few friends!"

"That's nice, Peanut," Dan Granger said, Hermione rolled her eyes. Her father always seemed to call her random names like Sweetnut, Pickle, Honey-flower and so on. "Who are these friends then? Will any of them be coming over this summer?"

"I don't know, I suppose I can ask them," Hermione said thoughtfully before a bright smile appeared on her face. "My best friend is a girl named 'Liv', she's really nice to me and she likes to read, like me."

"That's wonderful news," Emma smiled. "She sounds lovely,"

"She is," Hermione confirmed. "And I'm sort of friends with a boy named Neville,"

"Urgh, boys," Dan said under his breath.

"He and a boy named Ron hang out with us sometimes," Hermione continued.

"But you're not friends with this 'Ron'?" Dan asked.

"Nope," Hermione shook her head. "I don't think he likes me much, Daddy, and to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of him either. He's so rude, uncouth and loud. I think he just tolerates me because of our friends. I fear he's a bit of a bad influence on Neville. Neither of the two boys is anything like Hydrus," Hermione said, blushing slightly.

"Oh, and who is this Hydrus?" Emma asked in a teasing tone as she looked over her shoulder at Hermione with a knowing look, Hermione's blush got deeper.

"A bit of an odd name," Dan said, not noticing her blush as he was busy focusing on the road.

"He...had it changed," Hermione said, recovering slightly and going into lecture mode. "He was originally born as Harry James Potter, his family was attacked roughly ten years ago and both of his parents were unfortunately murdered."

"Oh," Emma blinked, dropping the teasing look instantly. "Poor thing,"

"Yeah, he was adopted a few years later by a woman named Bellatrix Black and then he had his name changed to Hydrus Black." Explained Hermione. "He's really good at magic, always top three in most of his classes. He's also really nice and polite to me and Liv. Neville and Ron always complain about him but he's never acted rudely in front of me and Liv. Those three are constantly getting into fights and arguing with each other, but Neville and Ron always seem to start it. I think he's a perfect gentleman."

"Is that so?" Dan asked with a small chuckle. "Will I have to give this boy the 'dad talk'?" He asked teasingly.

"Dad!" Hermione's blush had come back with full force.

"Stop it," Emma laughed, slapping Dan's shoulder. "They're a little young for that,"

"Still, always good to lay the groundwork early," Dan grinned.

"Uh...Daddy, I wouldn't try that if I were you," Hermione said slowly.

"Oh, and why is that?" Dan asked. "I won't scare him too much, Sweetpea."

"It's the opposite I'm worried about," Hermione said honestly, surprising both of her parents. "Not only is his mother a very influential and powerful woman, but he's also a duelling champion and he once killed a troll."

"A troll?" Emma repeated with disbelief.

"A thirteen-foot troll, yes," Hermione said, her face turning a bit green as she remembered what happened. "Somehow it had ended up sneaking in the school, I think someone let it in." She suspected that it was you-know-who, but decided not to tell her parents. It had been heard enough to convince them to send her to Hogwarts, it'd be even harder with them knowing that a dangerous wizard was out on the loose. "Either way, Hydrus ended up killing it by himself. So yeah, I wouldn't mess with him."

(.)

"Gran, you wanted to talk to me?" Neville asked, walking into his grandmother's office where he found her sitting behind her desk, looking over some letters.

"I did, sit," She said in her usual no-nonsense tone without looking up from her letters. Neville knew better than to make her ask twice and immediately sat in the chair opposite her. While she continued, he took the time to look around.

He knew better than to say it out loud, but he well and truly hated this place. He wasn't a fan of the manor in general, it was all stuffy and posh, the only real part he liked was the greenhouses outside, which was partly why he was so good at herbology. But he could live with the rest of the house, it was only this room specifically that he hated. There was no feeling of warmth here, no comfort, entering here always made him feel like he had been called into the headmaster's office. Everything felt strict somehow, everything from the fancy yet underused furniture to the large books on the bookshelves. He was fairly sure that the entire place would be covered in dust if it wasn't for his family house elf.

His grandmother's desk was large and wide, made up of some fancy wood with a long name that he didn't recall. On the desk, you could find books and various pieces of parchment, all perfectly placed and stacked. The one thing that you wouldn't be able to miss is in the right-hand corner of the desk, there was a perch with a stuffed brown owl on top, apparently, it used to belong to his grandmother when she was younger. He hated seeing it, the damn thing used to give him nightmares, he was convinced when he was younger that it was staring at him all the time, he could have sworn that its eyes were following him when he moved around the room. He still wasn't completely sure if he had been wrong. It was a large part of why he didn't mind not getting an owl when he came to Hogwarts.

"Neville," His grandmother sighed deeply once she finished reading the letter, finally looking up at him, he made sure to sit as straight as he could. "I've received several complaints and 'concerned' messages from various individuals regarding you using your father's wand. Apparently, news travels fast. So, tomorrow I will be taking you to Ollivander's so that you may get your own wand."

"What? Really?" Neville couldn't help but ask. Part of him wanted to keep using his father's wand, to honour him just as his grandmother had instructed. But another part of him couldn't help but be excited about the possibility of using his own wand, one just for him. He had heard from others in his year about how they had felt when they got their own wands, how they had been hit with unimaginably positive feelings, feeling better than they ever had before. He wanted to feel that with his father's wand, but he never did. He knew that Ron was also carrying a legacy wand, something which the two boys bonded over.

"Yes," She said before levelling him with a disappointed look that he was far too used to seeing, a look that he still was not able to brush off as unimportant. Once he had shrivelled adequately in front of her, she continued speaking. "I had hoped that you would have been able to prove me right and make do with your father's wand, but perhaps I simply expected too much of you."

"I'm sorry, Gran," He said meekly.

"I can see that," She said dryly. "This upcoming school year, I had better see improvements in your school year, no excuses. Apart from herbology, your results are abysmal."

"Sorry Gran," He said once more. He knew there were many other things he could say, he could have pointed out that he might have been good at potions if Professor Snape was not constantly belittling him and breathing down his neck, but he knew that that would result in a lecture about him standing up and being brave like a proper Longbottom. He could have pointed out that maybe his grades would have been better if his grandmother had just given him his own wand in the first place, but he knew that then he'd get a lecture for being disrespectful. No, it was better to just apologize and move on when it came to his grandmother, that was a lesson he had learnt very early on.

"I'm sure, now that you-know-who is back, I will not have you spending your time running around in the gardens and greenhouses," She said firmly.

"What?!" Gaped Neville. "But Gran, my plants -"

"Close your mouth, Boy, stop gaping like a fish," She told him, his mouth slammed shut. "The elves are more than capable of looking after the greenhouse, they have been doing it since before you were born. It's long past time you focused on your other subjects. The dark lord and his followers will not be stopped by a couple of plants."

"Umm...Gran," Neville took a breath. "I do know a few dangerous plants that we could place around the manor, they could help fight off any intruders. There are plants that bite, plants that catch and squeeze, I even know one that breathes fire." He said hesitantly. She stared hard at him for a moment.

"Write them down and I'll take a look at them," She said eventually. "But that doesn't change the fact that you will need to brush up on your wand work. I will not have a grandson of mine go down in a fight without at least taking a few wizards and witches with him. As much as I hate to admit it, it's possible that sooner or later you'll end up fighting someone. You've got to train and get better, sooner rather than later. Do you think you're currently capable of beating any of the students in your year in a duel?"

"Umm..." Neville gulped slightly as he thought about that. The answer was a resounding 'no', unfortunately, Liv and Hermione were so much better at magic than him that it was hard to comprehend him lasting more than a minute against them. Ron was someone that Neville could maybe take, but he didn't have much certainty regarding that. He was pretty sure every other person in his year was better than him as well. "...No, Gran," Neville admitted.

"Well, that will need to change," She told him. "Especially with what we have learnt. We've been proven right, Bellatrix Black was and is a servant of the dark lord. And that means that quite possibly Hydrus Black will become one soon if he isn't already one. I'm sure that you can agree that you're not yet capable of beating him." Neville reluctantly nodded at that, he knew that if it came to a magical duel then Hydrus could and would break him and spit him out with ridiculous ease. "Tell me, Neville, what do you think of the boy? Is he still on the side of the angels? Or has he fallen too far to be saved?"

"I...I don't know," Neville frowned deeply. "I...I don't like him much, but I don't think he's too evil, not yet anyway. He stopped one of his friends from breaking my wand but he was also the one who attacked me in the first place. He's never rude to Hermione or Liv."

"I would be careful," Advised Augusta with a frown. "He might have nefarious intentions for them both. Wouldn't be the first time a Black has charmed an unsuspecting witch or wizard into doing something they shouldn't."

"I'll look after them, Gran," Neville said in a determined voice.

"Good," Augusta said with a short nod. "Be careful around him, Neville, he might appear to be a normal boy but he is not. We don't know what dark things the woman has exposed the boy to."

(.)

"Liv," A voice called as soon as she got home.

Liv let out a sigh as she entered the small house that they lived in. It was hardly the worst place in the world but it wasn't exactly great in comparison to others. It was a council property, not a properly maintained one though. The wallpaper was damaged, and the furniture was dusty and unclean if one was being generous. The TV was on, as expected, and just like she expected, there was a bunch of litter scattered around the room. Sitting on the sofa, a beer can in his hand, was her father. A skinny man, with a brown, scraggly beard and shoulder-length hair that had been pulled into a ponytail. He looked up at her and grinned, his teeth were more yellow than she remembered.

"Daddy," She said in a tired voice. "I thought you said you would give up smoking," She said, noticing the empty cigarette box on the floor.

"I did!" Protested her father. "I just...started again," He said awkwardly. "Anyway, how was your school year?" He asked casually.

"It was fine, Daddy, I learnt a lot of magic and made some friends," She said neutrally.

"That's nice, no boys I hope," He said with a teasing grin before he stood up, drinking the last of his beer and tossing the can away in a random direction.

"Dad, you've not cleaned the place at all," Liv sighed.

"That's what you're for, isn't it?" He said, sounding unsure why she thought that it was a problem.

"Of course," Liv said, barely able to stop rolling her eyes. "Have you had any luck applying to any jobs yet?"

"Not yet, just between gigs at the moment," He answered easily before walking over to her. "So, can I get a hug or what?" He said, pulling her into a hug before she could respond. "Missed you, Liv,"

"Missed you too, Daddy," She said in a tight voice before trying to pull away, only for him to grab her by the arms.

"I hope you enjoyed your little magic school," He told her, noticeably more serious than before. "But it's been a long time since I've seen you perform my favourite bit of magic,"

"Dad, please, you know I don't like it," She said, her eyes tearing up slightly.

"Come on, Liv, it's been a better part of a year," He argued. "Come on, now," He said, kneeling down and placing her hands on his head. "Work your magic, Liv. For me." Liv stared at him for a moment before nodding her head. Her father's face slowly began changing and a dopy grin appeared before he fell on his back. "Aw, that's brilliant," His grin got wider, not even noticing Liv shivering a short distance away. "Your mind whammy feels so good, thanks Liv. You're the best. Love you,"

"L...love you too," She said stonily, unable to stop herself from glaring at the man in front of her.